SBS 2011 Migration – Destination Server Countdown Timer

As we are running through our SBS v7 migration to SBS 2011 RTM, we are discovering all sorts of nuances with the migration process. This was the case when migrating from SBS 2003 R2 to SBS v7, and now is also the case with this migration.

Once the migration process has been started, the Migration Wizard has a countdown timer built right into it:

Given that we will be running a number of migrations to SBS 2011 over the next few months, having that little indicator can be very helpful.

When migrating to SBS 2008 we always set a timer in place for the particular migration we were working on but could never be 100% sure that the source server would start misbehaving when our timer hit 21 days.

Here we can be reasonably assured that when that statement says 1 day we better have our stuff together and be ready to demote and remove the source SBS from the domain!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

SBS 2011 Migration – Change That GP Preference for Source Server Drive Maps

We use Group Policy Preferences for a lot of the settings that get delivered to users.

For one, all drive maps get set up by GP Prefs. Our usual setting is to Update for any drive map that gets created. We have discovered that in our current settings have not updated the backend SBS server name and location change as expected.

• Previous setting: O: \\Source-SBS\Company
• New setting: O: \\New-SBS\Company

For whatever reason, the change does not seem to be taking.

So, we changed that Update setting to Replace and our new Company folder took over the O: drive letter as expected.

Note that entry number 2 is a drive map for our Companyweb site.

Once we logged off and back on again our drive letters pointed to the new SBS server destination folders.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Intel Remote Management Module – Black Screen Or No Screen Refresh

One one of our Intel Server Systems deployments we had a really strange behaviour start to show itself after the box was delivered and set up at the client site.

Many parts of the screen were blacked out like the above. When trying to log onto the console via the RMM3’s Web management portal from our office the SBS 2008 logon page would be almost completely black.

Hitting the video refresh would sometimes work to bring things up, but the only time we could really get anywhere with the RMM3 connection was just after a reboot.

While searching for some information on the new memory available for Intel Xeon 3400 series platforms we came across a mention of the black screens for certain Linux distros.

• Bing Search: Intel RMM3 Black

Once we knew what to look for we could see that there were other results showing that there is indeed an issue and that some platforms may have received a fix while others have not.

The cause of the problem turns out to be the colour depth the physical console was set to _before_ dropping the box into the enclosure and locking it up headless.

After an update on this particular box we were able to log on using the RMM3 and bring up the Display Settings window. Sure enough, our colour depth was 24bpp:

We managed to change the bit depth to 16bit:

And, with that we now have a full SBS 2008 desktop running on an Intel Server System SR1630HGPRX!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

SBS 2011 Exchange 2010 SP1 – Outlook Web Access HTTP 500 Error

This is a strange situation in that everything was working fine. Because we are in the middle of a migration from SBS v7 to SBS 2011 on our network there are a lot of changes going on because of the migration.

So, it is tough to pinpoint exactly when OWA on SBS 2011 stopped working.

When we hit our SBS 2011 OWA to log on we get the following:

Punch in a username and password and we are greeted with:

There are very few results in our search attempts but it turned out that the second item in our Bing search did the trick:

• Microsoft Exchange Forms-Based Authentication service: Not Running.

The Recovery tab for the service shows “Restart the Service” for all three options. Yet, the service is not running.

So, we go ahead and start the service:

Sure enough, we were able to get in:

Hat tip: Henrik Walther Blog on MSExchange.org: Exchange 2010 SP1 – Experiencing an OWA HTTP 500 Error?

As Henrik indicates, the cause of the no-start situation with the FBA service is unknown at this point. We will be keeping an eye on this one for our SBS 2011 installs post reboot.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

SBS 2011– Trial Available for Download

The Official SBS Blog has a post indicating that SBS 2011 is now available for download as a trial.

• SBS Blog: SBS 2011 Standard Now Available for “Try and Buy”

The trial version can be set up at the client site and if they decide that SBS 2011 fits their needs they can then go ahead and license the SBS 2011 installation.

• Microsoft SBS Site

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

8GB Intel Validated Kingston Memory For S3420GP(RX) – Finally!

When it comes to supporting Intel’s server products, one of the first questions we get from the support technician when we start troubleshooting a problem is, “What type of memory is in the system?”

If that memory is not on the tested memory products list for that particular server board then we will be asked to install Intel Validated memory products.

Up to now there have been two 8GB sticks available for the Intel Server Board S3420GP(RX), one by Hynix and the other by Samsung (though not listed now), listed as validated for this series of server boards and the server systems based on them.

That has finally changed!

We now have two new Intel Validated Kingston parts:

• KVR1333D3D4R9S/8Gi
  • Cost: ~$350/Stick
• KVR1066D3Q8R7S/8Gi
  • Cost: ~$200/Stick

The catch for us here in Canada is that there is lots of stock for the 1333 MHz part while the 1066 MHz parts are in short supply at the moment. There are also kits of 2 (16GB) for each part number as well.

• Kingston’s site for the Intel Server Board S3420GPRX
• Intel’s Server Configurator
  • Start with Server Boards –> 3000 Series.

Why is this so important?

Because the Hynix and Micron parts have only been available via resellers in the US. So, any warranty issues were questionable since that list of resellers is very small and they are relatively unknown to us. RMA processes can be painful with some manufacturers and their resellers so we are cautious when it comes to new points of product supply.

We have had a lot of success with Kingston’s memory parts and when there have been times where we have needed to call them they have always been very helpful.

So, this news is a definite plus for us!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

SBS 2011 Migration OS Install – Microsoft Exchange Search ExSearch CPU at 100%

We are in the process of migrating our SBS v7 to SBS 2011 installed as a VM on one of our Hyper-V servers.

Once we had completed the Migration Mode OS install of SBS 2011 RTM we saw the following:

The Microsoft.Exchange.Search.ExSearch.exe process was keeping one of the vCPUs pinned at 100% even after a reboot.

Now, since we did not have our mailboxes migrated over we did not pay too much attention to the situation until now.

The process is still running at 100% even though our Public Folders and our mailboxes are now resident on the new SBS 2011 RTM VM.

So, we needed to figure out where the problem was.

The first step we did was to move the Arbitration and FederatedMail system mailboxes following these instructions:

• Microsoft Unified Communications – User Group, India: Delete default Mailbox Database & move Arbitration Mailboxes

Note that the text of one command is missing a bit at the end:

• 
• It should be:
  • New-MoveRequest –Identity “SystemMailbox{abcdeotrnsdosd-thedefaultname-nsdfrnfsfdsds}” TargetDatabase “E-DB02”

Once we completed the above steps, though we did not go so far as to delete the source SBS v7 Exchange databases yet, we still saw the process running at 100%.

So, we rebooted the box.

That did not work and the Exchange BPA came up clean as well.

We then reset the index service using the following instructions:

• SHEENAUSTIM.com Exchange 2010 Search Reset Search Index

The first few minutes after we ran the reset script the service went right back to 100%. Though, after a few minutes the process actually dropped down to a reasonable level.

Hat Tip: Michael B. Smith

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Funny – My Blackberry is Not Working!

What a great way to start a Monday morning (tea on the screen funny):

Enjoy your week and thanks for reading! :)

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

SBS 2011 Migration – Moving Mailboxes But No “New Local Move Request” Option Available?

When we were at the point where we needed to move our mailboxes off of the SBS v7 NDA bits onto the SBS 2011 RTM bits we were stymied by what seemed to be a missing command.

Right click on any user’s mailbox that did not have a green arrow on it and the New Local Move Request . . . option was available but not so with any user’s mailbox that had a green arrow already there.

It turns out that we needed to clear the previous move requests.

Click on Move Request under Recipient Configuration and we see a list of the mailboxes that have the move request menu item missing.

Right click on the mailbox and we see:

We highlighted all of the listed mailboxes right clicked and then clicked on Clear Move Request. All of the mailboxes were available to move after that.

• Fix found here: How Exchange Works: Can’t Move Mailbox In Exchange 2010…

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

SBS – Setting Limits To RDP Sessions

As the Windows Server operating system gets more advanced in the methods that we use to remotely connect to our Remote Desktop Services/Terminal Services servers or desktops behind TS/RDS Gateway we need to be mindful of the bandwidth requirements for the connections.

With SBS 2011 we can connect to our office based PC with multiple monitors, stream video, stream sound, and a lot more on that one connection.

So, out of the box we set some limits to what we can and cannot do with our RDP connection to an SBS network.

The above screenshot is of a GPO setting opened in our SBS 2011’s GPMC. In this setting we are putting a limit on the number of monitors that a remotely connected user can use for their connection at 2.

Note that in any GPO setting that allows for a comment, including the GPO itself, we put comments in as above or with a brief description as to why the policy was enabled or disabled. We try and do this to keep track of the changes we have made with the descriptions helping us to understand why things were they way they were later on in the life of the SBS network.

The rest of the settings in the Windows Computers Policy are as follows:

• Enforce removal of the remote PC’s wallpaper.
  • This one is pretty obvious as the high resolution colour images will hit the screen refresh rate significantly.
• Limit colours to 15 bits.
• Maximum remotely connected monitors: 2.
• Remove the “Disconnect” button from the Shutdown Dialogue.
  • We request that users always log off their remote sessions when done.
• Enable the Windows Security item on the Start menu.
  • This item gives them the ability to access the Windows Security menu to make changes if they get stuck.
  • 

The settings will be in a slightly different location for GPOs in SBS 2008 and SBS 2003 as RDS was Terminal Services in those editions.

In certain circumstances we will also enable the Restrict Remote Desktop Services users to a single Remote Desktop Services session setting.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

SBS 2011 Setup Guide v1.4.0 Released

Our SBS 2011 Setup Guide has been updated.

We added the removal of the speaker from the System Tray, enabling remote management for the Event Logs, and a number of other minor tweaks.

• SBS 2011 Setup Guide v1.4.0

Thanks for reading!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

SBS 2003 to SBS 2011 Microsoft Migration Document Download Now Available

The Microsoft method for migrating SBS 2003 to SBS 2011 is now available as a Word document download.

• Microsoft Downloads: Migrate to Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard from Windows Small Business Server 2003

Our previous post pointing to the TechNet content:

• Blog Post: SBS 2003 to SBS 2011 Microsoft Migration White Paper on TechNet

Hat Tip: Susan Bradley 

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

SBS 2011 – Event Viewer Error – RPC server is unavailable – GP Setting Fix

When we go to remote manage a computer in Active Directory Users & Computers on an SBS 2011 network we will see:

Event Viewer

Connecting, please wait . . .

After a short pause we will then see:

Event Viewer

Event Viewer cannot connect to computer ‘Computer.Domain.LOCAL’. The error reported is: The RPC server is unavailable (sic)

When the computer management console does come up the Event Viewer looks like:

Note the hole where an icon should be to the left of Event Viewer.

To fix this we make a change in a GPO that we create and link to the Computers OU called Windows Computers Policy.

The change would be as follows:

1. Computer Configuration –> Policies –> Windows Settings –> Security Settings –> Windows Firewall with Advanced Security –> Inbound Rules
2. Right click and left click on New Rule.
• 
3. Click the Predefined radio button.
4. Choose the Remote Event Log Management option in the drop down list.
• 
5. Click Next.
6. Leave the defaults and click Next.
• 
7. Choose Allow the connection and click Finish.

Please note that it may take anywhere up to 90 minutes for the machines on the network to refresh their Computer Configuration policies.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

SBS 2011 – Turn Off The Speaker Icon In the System Tray

On a fresh OS install we end up needing to make a number of tweaks and changes to the OS setup before we would be comfortable with deploying the box or VM into production.

So, out of the box we have that speaker icon showing in the System Tray.

Since we always use real server hardware whether Intel based or Tier 1 we always end up with a box that does not have any sound subsystems to it whatsoever.

So, to eliminate that speaker icon we do the following:

1. Right click on the Task Bar and left click on Properties.
• 
2. Click on the Customize button in the Notification Area section.
• Note that hiding the icon is not the same as turning it off.
• 
3. Click on the Turn system icons on or off link near the bottom left of the window.
• 
4. Set the Volume icon to Off.
1. 
5. Click OK three times.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Video – An Introduction To The SBS 2011 Remote Web Access Portal

The following video gives an overview of the various features to be found in the new SBS 2011 Remote Web Access portal (formerly Remote Web Workplace in SBS 2003 and 2008).

SBS 2011 RWA has the following features:

• Outlook Web App (OWA) for full Outlook like access to our e-mail, contacts, calendars, and more.
• Access to the Companyweb SharePoint site.
• Access to shared folders hosted _on_ the SBS server.
• This new feature allows us to upload and download data as well as work with folders within the share.
• Connection to any desktop, laptop, or other Windows machine that we have been given permission to access.
• Of course that machine needs to be on for access!

The new version of RWA also allows us to customize the portal by adding Web links to various Internet based resources. We can also move the feature access boxes around to suit our tastes.

Please feel free to comment and critique any of the videos we put out.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer